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1 Samuel 15:17-23

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17 Samuel said, "Is it not true, 1though you were little in your own eyes, you were made the head of the tribes of Israel? And the LORD anointed you king over Israel,
18 and the LORD sent you on a mission, and said, '2Go and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are exterminated.'
19 "Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD, 3but rushed upon the spoil and did what was evil in the sight of the LORD?"
20 Then Saul said to Samuel, "4I did obey the voice of the LORD, and went on the mission on which the LORD sent me, and have brought back Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.
21 "But 5the people took some of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the choicest of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the LORD your God at Gilgal."
22 Samuel said, "6Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, 7to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.
23 "For rebellion is as the sin of 8divination, And insubordination is as 9iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, 10He has also rejected you from being king."
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1 Samuel 15:17-23 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 15

In this chapter are recorded the order Saul had from the Lord to destroy Amalek utterly, 1Sa 15:1-3 the preparation he made to put it in execution, and the success thereof, 1Sa 15:4-9 the offence the Lord took at his not obeying his order thoroughly, with which Samuel was made acquainted, and which grieved him, 1Sa 15:10,11, upon which he went out to meet Saul, and reprove him; and a long discourse upon the subject passed between them, the issue of which was, that by an irrevocable decree he was rejected from being king, 1Sa 15:12-31 and the chapter is concluded with an account of Samuel's hewing in pieces Agag king of Amalek, and of his final departure from Saul, 1Sa 15:32-35.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 10

  • 1. 1 Samuel 9:21; 1 Samuel 10:22
  • 2. 1 Samuel 15:3
  • 3. 1 Samuel 14:32
  • 4. 1 Samuel 15:13
  • 5. Exodus 32:22, 23; 1 Samuel 15:15
  • 6. Psalms 40:6-8; Psalms 51:16, 17; Isaiah 1:11-15; Micah 6:6-8; Hebrews 10:6-9
  • 7. Jeremiah 7:22, 23; Hosea 6:6; Matthew 12:7; Mark 12:33
  • 8. Deuteronomy 18:10
  • 9. Genesis 31:19, 34
  • 10. 1 Samuel 13:14

Footnotes 2

New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, California.  All rights reserved.